The
quest for an open, industry standard method for content identification has
moved one step closer with the recent announcement that the Coalition for
Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and the Society for Motion Picture and
Television Engineers® (SMPTE)® are joining efforts.
CIMM
and SMPTE formed a study group in August 2013 which was charged with
formulating an understanding of technologies and future standards requirements
that could be applied to content identification. The study group found that
there are technologies that can survive compression and distribution through
the media and entertainment (M&E) supply chain that bind media identifiers
to content. The group also found that audio watermarking, rather than other
techniques, is the most promising approach. This is an important step.
Following
this, a drafting group was formed that is charged with undertaking the actual standardization
of technologies for the open binding of IDs to essence, using the findings from
the study group as a guideline.
What does this mean for the industry and for cross platform measurement? I
sat down with CIMM’s Jane Clarke and asked her the following questions:
CW: How
important is this announcement?
JC: There is a
plumbing level needed within the TV and video distribution ecosystem to enable
accurate cross-platform measurement and more efficient and transparent media
workflows. Moving to writing an open standard for binding identifiers to the
essence of media content is a huge step forward for the industry and can enable
industry participants to finally begin to communicate in the same language
which will drive innovation not only for cross-platform measurement, but also
for other automated innovation in digital TV such as dynamic ad insertion,
programmatic TV ad buying and second screen synching experiences.
CW: What
makes this different from other approaches?
JC: The media
industry currently has no open, uniform method of content or ad identification
that survives compression and distribution through the supply chain. Putting
such an identification method in place is a critical next step toward the
establishment of an interoperable standard for all professional video content
that can be used throughout the entire media ecosystem.
CW: How will
this impact how media is bought and sold?
JC: Standardizing
the identification of assets will bring greater speed, efficiency, transparency
and accountability to the tracking and reporting of audience viewing data, and
enable communication and comparisons across a wide range of technology and
measurement vendors. It could enable a wider range of metrics for buying
and selling media, as well as the ability to introduce greater optimization in
targeting audiences, creative and even pricing across an increasing range of
video platforms
CW: Why is
audio watermarking the most promising approach?
JC: Watermarking
embeds a content or ad ID into audio or video content by altering the latter.
It provides a positive and unambiguous identification of the content and allows
two distinct programs with similar or identical audio or video content to be
differentiated. Furthermore, extraction of a complete content ID is possible
using a standalone detector without the need for an online lookup system.
CW: How has
this announcement been received by the industry?
JC: Thus
far, we have received a very positive response from the industry and have
active participation from an excellent cross section of companies in the
drafting group, which is responsible for writing the standard.
CW: Will
this enable a proactive coding structure that codes future inventory before it
airs?
JC: Both of the
current managed identification standards (Ad-ID for ads and Entertainment ID
Registry (EIDR) for content) can be embedded into the asset at the discretion
of the asset owner. This could occur early in the life of the asset, so
that the IDs can be used for content management and shared among all the
technology and measurement vendors, from the creation of electronic program
guides through to trafficking, distribution and audience measurement in
consumer-facing devices.
CW: Who else
is doing work in this space and how does it differ from this approach?
JC: The only other solutions that
exist currently are proprietary. In this initiative, CIMM is collaborating
not only with SMPTE, but also with the Entertainment ID Registry and Ad-ID,
which is a venture of the 4A’s and the ANA. The new SMPTE Drafting Group
also has an official liaison with ATSC, which is an industry group developing
the next generation of broadcast TV, and who have expressed interest in
standardizing asset identification in that new standard. There are also
plans to liaise with other relevant industry groups, such as and SCTE and CEA,
and other media industry trade groups such as the IAB and the ARF.
Interview
by Charlene Weisler, Weisler Media LLC. She can be reached through her research
blog www.WeislerMedia.blogspot.com or at WeislerMedia@yahoo.com. Twitter: www.twitter.com/weislermedia
